QUERENCIA

24.I AM WITH YOU

"It had been two days since Annika came back from her Delhi trip, but she seemed to be unusually silent, not talking much, just giving answers in monosyllabic.", thought Shivaay looking at Annika from his cabin glasswall.

"I need to do something to bring her cheerful side back", he muttered to himself, and quickly went to her desk.

"Hey!", Shivaay said to Annika who was lost in her thoughts, staring blankly at her computer screen. She looked up at him, her eyes lacking their usual sparkle.

"Hey," she replied softly, her voice devoid of its usual enthusiasm.

Shivaay pulled a chair next to her desk and sat down, trying to catch her gaze.

"Actually I was thinking that today we should go out for lunch, there is a new cafe downstairs. I heard they serve good pasta."

"Lunch?" she looked at his eyes and she could sense worriedness in it.

"Ahm we have a meeting within an hour." she said, trying to avoid him.

Shivaay frowned slightly, realising that he had forgotten about the meeting. "You're right, I completely forgot about that. How about we go right after the meeting then? It'll give us something to look forward to."

Annika hesitated, glancing at her computer screen. "I don't know, Shivaay. I have a lot of work, plus we have one more deadline for one of our deals so need to look at that too."

Shivaay realised what she was trying to do but even he was determined to know what happened in Delhi.

"So what about dinner? And please don't say no, I insist." Shivaay played his last stroke to convince her.

Annika sighed, feeling cornered but also sensing Shivaay's genuine concern. She couldn't deny that part of her wanted to talk, to let out whatever was troubling her. She nodded reluctantly.

"Alright, dinner then," she agreed, her voice barely above a whisper.

Shivaay smiled, relieved that she had agreed. "Great! I'll pick you up at 7," he said, getting up from the chair.

Annika gave a weak smile in return, not fully convinced but appreciating his effort. Shivaay returned to his cabin, his mind now half-focused on the upcoming meeting and half on figuring out what could have possibly happened during her trip to Delhi.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of meetings and deadlines, and before they knew it, it was time to leave for the day. Shivaay watched as Annika gathered her things, her movements slow and deliberate, as if each action required an immense amount of effort.

At 7 PM sharp, Shivaay was waiting for Annika outside their office building. He saw her approaching, her shoulders slightly hunched, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of concern.

As they drove, the silence between them was palpable. Shivaay glanced over at Annika occasionally, hoping she would start talking on her own. Shivaay tried to start a conversation but his attempts failed as Annika was just leaning on the window and seemed lost so he decided to give her some space.

"We reached Annika", Shivaay said looking at her. Breaking her trance but when she looked outside she frowned.

"Shivaay where are we?" she said looking outside a humongous building.

"My penthouse is here. Usually I stay here when I have loads of work and think we can have something homemade."

Annika blinked, surprised, and looked back at Shivaay. "Your penthouse?" she repeated, her voice tinged with hesitation. "But, Shivaay, I don't want to intrude."